Harden-Runner has a command injection weaknesses in setup.ts and arc-runner.ts

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

2.7 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2024-52587: 2.76% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 86.29 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary Versions of step-security/harden-runner prior to v2.10.2 contain multiple command injection weaknesses via environment variables that could potentially be exploited under specific conditions. However, due to the current execution order of pre-steps in GitHub Actions and the placement of harden-runner as the first step in a job, the likelihood of exploitation is low as the Harden-Runner action reads the environment variable during the pre-step stage. There are no known exploits at this time. Details 1. setup.ts:169 [1] performs execSync with a command that gets invoked after interpretation by the shell. This command includes an interpolated process.env.USER variable, which an attacker could modify (without actually creating a new user) to inject arbitrary shell expressions into this execSync. This may or may not be likely in practice, but I believe the hygienic way to perform the underlying operation is to use execFileSync or similar and bypass the underlying shell evaluation.…

Published by the source

18 Nov 2024, 23:48 UTC

Last modified by the source

19 Nov 2024, 20:50 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 17:08 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-g85v-wf27-67xc

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2024-52587

Advisory: Harden-Runner has a command injection weaknesses in `setup.ts` and `arc-runner.ts`
IDs: CVE-2024-52587, GHSA-g85v-wf27-67xc
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2024-52587 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 17:08 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Low (CVSS 2.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: step-security/harden-runner 2.10.2. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- GitHub Actions step-security/harden-runner: affected < 2.10.2; fixed in 2.10.2

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- GitHub Actions step-security/harden-runner: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on step-security/harden-runner.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-g85v-wf27-67xc (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-g85v-wf27-67xc lists affected ranges: GitHub Actions step-security/harden-runner >=0 <2.10.2)

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